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‘Voice of the All American’ settles into his role…

Now in his 13th year of calling horse races at Ruidoso Downs Race Track, announcer Robert Fox has settled in for the long haul.

“I’m exactly where I want to be,” said Fox. “This is a wonderful racing community and we have the fastest quarter horse athletes in the world competing in a couple of weeks for the All American Futurity. As a race fan who happens to make a living at announcing, it couldn’t get any better.”

Originally from Glendale, California, Fox’s first trip to the races was as a young spectator with his family on a weekend outing. “I remember walking into Santa Anita Park and my eyes were wide open,” said Fox. “The jockeys drew my attention because they were about my size — and they were so athletic. Once I saw all the action of what was happening at the race track, I got the bug and have been wanted to be involved in racing ever since.”

His career started by taking riding lessons with the hopes of one day becoming a jockey. “I did quite a bit on ponying horses when I was young,” said Fox. “I didn’t have the athletic stamina to pursue that type of a career. So, that led me to try my hand at other jobs that might work around a race track — and broadcasting school.”

Fox attended the Columbia School of Broadcasting in Southern California and practiced calling races into a tape recorder. His first broadcasting job was as a Los Angeles radio traffic reporter. His first broadcasting job in horse racing was at Harbour Park in Elma, Washington — some 25 years ago — and he has landed at several race tracks in-between landing the permanent job at Ruidoso Downs in 2004.

Last year, Fox was named the track announcer at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Arizona. That is considered a plum position in thoroughbred racing, but it also fits nicely with his job announcing in the summer here. Turf Paradise’s race dates are primarily during the winter months while Ruidoso Downs runs from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.

“Announcing at Ruidoso Downs in the summer and Turf Paradise in the winter is like a dream-job for anyone who aspires to be a racing announcer,” said Fox. “Getting the opportunity to call races year-round, plus have the opportunity to call the All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs — that’s the highlight.”

This year, Ruidoso Downs is allowing more television airtime for Fox to comment on the races prior to their running. He gives a brief description of the horses while they are being saddled in the paddock which he hopes is helpful to the racing fans who listen.

“I’m trying to give information that a bettor can use when making their decisions,” said Fox. “I also am trying to teach somewhat — point out things that might not be so obvious to the bettors.”

As for the $3-million All American Futurity trials on August 19 and 20, Robert believes that $1 million Rainbow Futurity champion A Revenant is the two-year-old to beat going into the competition.

“I watched A Revenant compete in the schooling trials in the spring and picked him out as one to watch all season,” said Fox. “That horse has all of the tools to win on Labor Day. But the wind direction at the time of the trials has so much to do with whether a quarter horse can qualify. In my view, A Revenant has a chance to put his name up with some of the greats such as Refrigerator, DM Shicago or Heartswideopen.”

Robert said the final month of horse racing at Ruidoso Downs is the most exciting time of the year for racing fans, “and I’m just one of them,” said Fox. “And I always have a tremendous view of everything that’s about to happen on the race track from the window in the announcer’s booth.”